Here's some great news for the fashion and art worlds: fashion house Eckhaus Latta will present the first solo fashion exhibition the Whitney Museum of American Art has seen in 21 years.
Eckhaus Latta: Possessed will spotlight the work of the designer duo Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, who, since launching six years ago, have garnered a reputation for their innovated blend of interesting materials, textures, and written words in their clothing, and relying on strong visuals and performance art into their runway presentations. In recent years, the brand has gained fans in stylish names like SOPHIE, Moses Sumney, and Kelela.
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Of the Eckhaus Latta appointment, the Whitney's Nancy and Fred Poses Associate Curator, Christopher Lew said that as part of the Whitney's emerging artist program, they "sometimes showcase creative figures outside of the visual arts." Lew went on to say that fashion figures such as Eckaus Latta, who were declared finalists for this year's prestigious LVMH Prize of Young Fashion Designers, "approach their disciplines in ways that are akin to visual artists, often questioning the systems and parameters that define what they do, speaking to the broader cultural moment, and blurring the boundaries between disciplines."
Possessed will reportedly be marked by three installations, each exploring the debate about fashion consumption, and how advertising and inspiration influence creation.
Eckhaus Latta will create three installations that will explore and navigate conversations surrounding fashion consumption, advertising, inspiration, and creation. Lauri London Freedman, who co-organized the exhibition, said in a statement that working with Eckhaus and Latta challenged The Whitney to further consider how museums and objects presented within them correlate with each other to promote greater social messages and the artists behind them. "They pushed us to ask broader questions such as 'How can we reexamine the format of an exhibition?' and 'What is the best way to exhibit an artist's work," Freedman said.
Eckhaus Latta: Possessed opens at The Whitney on August 3 and runs through October 8.
Photo Courtesy of Whitney Museum